turtledovefandomcom-20200216-history
Führer of the Greater German Reich
"Führer" (sometimes rendered Fuehrer) was the title granted by German Chancellor Adolf Hitler to himself by law in 1934. The new position, fully named Führer und Reichskanzler ("Leader and Chancellor of the (Third) Reich"), unified the offices of President and Chancellor, formally making Hitler Germany's Head of State as well as Head of Government respectively; in practice, the Dictator of the Nazi German Reich. For military matters, Hitler used the style Führer und Oberster Befehlshaber der Wehrmacht ("Leader and Supreme Commander of the Wehrmacht"), until that addition was dropped by decree of the Führer. The style of the Head of State for use in foreign affairs was Führer und Reichskanzler ("Leader and National Chancellor") until it was changed to Führer des Grossdeutschen Reichs ("Leader of the Greater German Nation"). The title fell into disuse immediately upon Hitler's death in 1945. Literary Comment Harry Turtledove has depicted the continued use of the title Führer in several timelines. In Worldwar, Hitler's successors use the title Führer und Reichskanzler, the title Hitler held up until 1942 of OTL. In ''In the Presence of Mine Enemies'', Hitler's successors use the title Führer des Grossdeutschen Reichs or simply, Führer, the title Hitler officially used from 1942 until 1945 in OTL. ''In the Presence of Mine Enemies'' Between 1934 and 2011, the [[Germany (In the Presence of Mine Enemies)|Greater German Reich]] was ruled by four different Führers. Otto von Bismarck was given honorary status posthumously. In 2011, the reform-minded Heinz Buckliger was temporarily overthrown during a ''Putsch'' launched by ''Reichsführer-SS'' Lothar Prützmann. Odilo Globocnik held the position of Acting Führer for about 24 hours until the Putsch was defeated and Buckliger was reinstalled. Worldwar Between 1934 and 1966, four men are known to have held the office of Führer and Chancellor of Germany. Heinrich Himmler died unexpectedly in 1964, while in the midst of planning an attack on Race-controlled Poland. After a brief regency by the Committee of Eight, his successor Ernst Kaltenbrunner initiated Himmler's plan, leading to the brief and catastrophic Race-German War of 1965, which saw the death of Kaltenbrunner, and the ascension of the moderate Walter Dornberger, essentially the last senior official still alive. Under Dornberger and his successors, Germany rebuilt in secret, away from the watchful eyes of the Race. By 2031, the Reich had become a space-faring power once again, and the Race respected it as a potential rival once more. Other Führers Adolf Hitler is or was the Führer of the [[Germany|Greater German Reich]] in the vast majority of Harry Turtledove works involving the Nazis and/or World War II, including "Cayos in the Stream", the Days of Infamy series, "The Eighth-Grade History Class Visits the Hebrew Home for the Aging", Joe Steele (both novel and short story), "The Last Article", The Man With the Iron Heart, "Must and Shall", "News From the Front", "The Phantom Tolbukhin", and "Zigeuner". His role in these stories is usually limited to references. Numerous stories set in OTL contain references to Hitler's rule, whether contemporarily or posthumously; unless his role in the story is specifically fictionalized, those do not belong here. In "Shtetl Days", the Third Reich still exists in the 2030s. Hitler is referred to as the first Führer, but none of his successors are named. In The War That Came Early, Hitler is the only Führer of Germany, and is killed in April 1944. The Nazi Party is overthrown and succeeded by the Committee for the Salvation of the German Nation, headed by Committee Chairman Heinz Guderian. In "Ready for the Fatherland", Hitler is Führer until 1943. He is succeeded as head of Nazi Germany by Erich von Manstein, who kills Hitler in a brief coup. Manstein's official title is not specified. Hitler is also referenced in "The Last Word", part of S.M. Stirling's Draka timeline, where Hitler was the only Führer of Germany, and was killed in 1942. See Also *German Emperor (Kaiser), the head of state of Germany from 1871 to 1918 in OTL. Turtledove has presented nearly as many alternate history versions of this office as he has of the Führer. *''Duce, an Italian title meaning "boss" or "leader" used by Benito Mussolini. He was informally called this title during most of his term as the Prime Minister of Italy, and officially adopted it as the title of head of state of the short-lived Italian Social Republic. Hitler and other fascist leaders adopted Mussolini's model, styling themselves as "leaders" of their respective countries. In ''In the Presence of Mine Enemies, Duce is the formal title of Italy's head of government into the 21st century. *''Caudillo, a Spanish word also meaning "leader". While the word was used throughout the Spanish-speaking world for centuries, Spanish leader Francisco Franco adopted the title during his rule over Spain, cementing the word's association with fascism. In [[In the Presence of Mine Enemies (novel)|''In the Presence of Mine Enemies]], Franco's successors continued to use the title Caudillo into the 21st century. *''Poglavnik'', a Croatian title meaning "head" or "chief". In OTL, the only holder of the title was Ante Pavelić, in office 1941-1945. In "Ready for the Fatherland" and ''In the Presence of Mine Enemies'', Pavelić had successors in the title. *''Perón, a title unique to [[In the Presence of Mine Enemies (novel)|''In the Presence of Mine Enemies]], where it is used by Argentinian leaders, and appears to be equivalent to Führer, Duce, etc. While Perón was the surname of two historical Argentinian Presidents, it was never used as a title in OTL. *Leader of the Soviet Union. The de facto dictators of the Soviet Union occupied many different offices and used a number of cumbersome, inconsistent titles. For convenience, all these individuals have been gathered together under the simplified designation of "Leader". Turtledove has created several alternate succession lists of Soviet leaders. *President of the Confederate States, the leadership position of an unrecognized nation, which operated 1861-1865 in OTL. Jefferson Davis was the only historical holder of the title. In The Guns of the South and Southern Victory, the Confederate States are legitimized as a nation and Davis has successors; in the latter work, the Confederate Presidency metamorphoses into something resembling the German Führer. *Leader of Alemania, a title analogous to "Führer of Germany" in the fantasy context of The Case of the Toxic Spell Dump. Category:Titles * * Category:In the Presence of Mine Enemies Category:Worldwar